Members cratz2 Posted January 9, 2011 Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 I just bought a Yamaha G100-112S Series II. When I was in high school jazz band in 9th and 10th grade, we had two Jazz Chorus 2x12s that we used for the most part, but we also had about 3 of these Yamahas in 2x12 forum. It was never my favorite amp by any stretch, neither was the JC for that matter, but when the jazz band practiced, it was after either the concert band or orchestra. I was in orchestra, but when concert band was practicing, I'd slip into a little practice room and play through the Yamaha for a couple hours. I always kinda liked the smooth gain of the Yamaha, but I also liked heavier stuff (I was in a punk band at the time) and this was actually why I bought my first dirt pedal, to drive the Yamaha harder than it could go on its own. Flash forward about 20 years, walking through a pawn shop last week, I found this. 100 watts 1x12, heavy as hell. Looks pretty good, all the knobs were there, everything worked. It was marked at $180, I whipped out my $20 bills and offered $100 out the door and here we are. Got it home, plugged in my git with Seth Lovers and I was pretty impressed... instantly with the clean tone and on the gain channel with the gain about 1/3 up. Sort of a complex clean tone more than actual gain. With the gain closer to 80% up, it's somewhat Dumble- and early MESA-inspired... very fluid sounding, very smooth and sustainy but not overly gainy. Some nice features. Both channels have a pull 'Fat' switch on the volume pot, parametric EQ, spring reverb that is pretty spacious-sounding, a XLR direct out on a separate box (denoted by the 'S' version of the amp). Only negative is it weighs 53 lbs. For a 1x12 combo. I thought about putting one of my EVM 12Ls in there which would bring it up to about 63 lbs or the same weight as a stock Twin Reissue. Did some research. Paul Rivera may or may not have been involved in it's design. I've read he was from three different sources, but who knows. The list of players that have used the amp is pretty impressive to say the least. Robben Ford, Mike Stern and Jack Pearson just to name a few. I've been playing it quite a bit lately. Not sure if I'll keep it or try to flip it, but I'm really impressed with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeBoy Posted January 9, 2011 Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 Yamaha built some great SS amps before anyone else could. I don't know why they left the amp market behind. I also don't understand why you can't find a dealer that carries their entire product line. They build some great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted January 9, 2011 Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 Interesting amp and seems like a great score for that price. Any clips? I'd be curious to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 I've never done clips, but I guess I could work on it. Regarding why they left the market, I read on one website that the cost of getting the amps delivered kept going up and up because the factory that built some of the products kept going up and up until they couldn't even quite compete with Fender tube amps. They tried building to a lower price point right after this series of amps (the ones with two or three different colored knobs for those of you around back in those days... I remember them) and then they just failed miserably. To put it in perspective, one steel guitar player said these amps were $400 in 1978-1980, brand new... a couple years later when Boss/Roland came out with their funky but kinda cool 2x6" amp, those were $400 upon release, then were dropped down to $300. At the time, in the early 80s, you could get used Silverface amps for literally dirt cheap because nobody wanted them. Or you could get the new solid state Fenders for pretty cheap as well. Not saying they were great, but I'd imagine 95% of the American buying public would rather go with a solid state Fender than a Solid state Yamaha or Roland. Sure, you could get Holmes/Gorilla/Crate amps new for pretty cheap, but $400 was a whole lot of money in those days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoneNut Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I had a Yamaha DG 60 that was wonderful. Only sold it because I was starting out and listened to all the "only tube amps" bullshit. Ended up at that time with a POS Fender Blues Jr. Should have never sold that Yamaha amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 my very first amp was a Yamaha G100 212 back in the late '70s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Orange Jackson Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 Looks cool anyway, Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I like those old yamaha amps! You got a great deal on it, imo anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deadbeat Son Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 HNAD! The cabinet design is remarkably similar to a Fender, don't you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I had a Yamaha DG 60 that was wonderful. Wat that the one that was essentially a powered DG-Stomp in a box with the 1x12? I had one for a few weeks. I thought it was pretty neat, but returned it. As good a modeler as existed at the time. Probably better than most today. Speaker was a weak point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aliensporebomb Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I just bought a Yamaha G100-112S Series II. When I was in high school jazz band in 9th and 10th grade, we had two Jazz Chorus 2x12s that we used for the most part, but we also had about 3 of these Yamahas in 2x12 forum. It was never my favorite amp by any stretch, neither was the JC for that matter, but when the jazz band practiced, it was after either the concert band or orchestra. I was in orchestra, but when concert band was practicing, I'd slip into a little practice room and play through the Yamaha for a couple hours. I always kinda liked the smooth gain of the Yamaha, but I also liked heavier stuff (I was in a punk band at the time) and this was actually why I bought my first dirt pedal, to drive the Yamaha harder than it could go on its own. Flash forward about 20 years, walking through a pawn shop last week, I found this. 100 watts 1x12, heavy as hell. Looks pretty good, all the knobs were there, everything worked. It was marked at $180, I whipped out my $20 bills and offered $100 out the door and here we are. Got it home, plugged in my git with Seth Lovers and I was pretty impressed... instantly with the clean tone and on the gain channel with the gain about 1/3 up. Sort of a complex clean tone more than actual gain. With the gain closer to 80% up, it's somewhat Dumble- and early MESA-inspired... very fluid sounding, very smooth and sustainy but not overly gainy. Some nice features. Both channels have a pull 'Fat' switch on the volume pot, parametric EQ, spring reverb that is pretty spacious-sounding, a XLR direct out on a separate box (denoted by the 'S' version of the amp). Only negative is it weighs 53 lbs. For a 1x12 combo. I thought about putting one of my EVM 12Ls in there which would bring it up to about 63 lbs or the same weight as a stock Twin Reissue. Did some research. Paul Rivera may or may not have been involved in it's design. I've read he was from three different sources, but who knows. The list of players that have used the amp is pretty impressive to say the least. Robben Ford, Mike Stern and Jack Pearson just to name a few. I've been playing it quite a bit lately. Not sure if I'll keep it or try to flip it, but I'm really impressed with it. The other guitarist in my old band has one of those. He plays it in stereo with a Carvin tube combo and makes for a great combination. Interestingly, the amp is built like a tank and he's owned it for absolutely eons and it's never needed any kind of repair or maintenance at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoneNut Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 Wat that the one that was essentially a powered DG-Stomp in a box with the 1x12? I had one for a few weeks. I thought it was pretty neat, but returned it. As good a modeler as existed at the time. Probably better than most today. Speaker was a weak point. That's the one. I loved that amp and you're right, a speaker swap would have done it good. A little before its time I would say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sylvesterlowery Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 my very first amp was a Yamaha G100 212 back in the late '70s... I was in a band with a guy that had one, and those things are fucking LOUD! I saw a rare head version recently, now I want one to run through a 4x12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members profgalen Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I have the head version. G100 IIh. Found it in a pawnshop for $80. One of the best solid state amps ever. The pots can get dirty, but easily clean-up. Built like a tank. I gig with mine all the time. From what I understand, Paul Rivera Designed the first G100. The G100II is basically the same with the addition of the second channel. These are really great amps and take pedal very well, which is unusual for solid state. From what I understand a lot of Jazz Fuison player did/do use this amp. Metheny and Holdsworth come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flogger59 Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I like the MkII better that the MkIII, and yes, they're indestructible. Good, versatile gigging amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nuke_diver Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 My first amp was a Yamaha practice amp..not very good but I only paid $40 for it so and sold it 15 years later for $50 so it was an ok investment Your's looks much better though, looks like a great score Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I have a G100-210 and a YBA-100. I gig the G100 all the time. Great clean tones but the grain channel has never been Yamaha's strong suit. I have the service manual and have considered doing some mods to it, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Built like a tank and over-the-top loud! Love the parametric EQ. When I need a more rock sound I put my modded V33 head on top and use the G100 as a 2x10 speaker cab! Got mine used 6 or so years ago for $150. Since we're into vintage Yamaha's, here's my YBA-100 and BB-405 bass [with Q-tuner pickups]: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sheraton Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 a G50 112 just popped up on my local CL, actually in Valpo for $90. Is this just the 50 watt version of the same amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 ^^ yup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reverse Entropy Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 The reason they are so heavy is they had big honking slabs of iron in the transformers. As a result, they have a lot of reserve power and give you a big fat Twang when you dig in. Almost forgotten amps, but congrats getting such on a real bargain on a little giant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 10, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I mostly play tube amps but this thing is pretty damn impressive. I've actually had it all the way up on both channels. It's loud, but not crazy, stupid loud. The clean channel actually sounds pretty nice fully open with low output humbuckers like Seth Lovers. Sounds dangerously like a JTM45 just barely starting to breakup... But LOUD. The gain channel has a point where I don't like how it sounds beyond that point - volume-wise, not gain-wise - but again, that point is pretty loud as well. I actually feel pretty silly that I have 6 pretty nice tube amps and I've been spending so much time the last week with this Yamaha, but I've been in a jazzy mood as of late and that's exactly what this thing does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 10, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 a G50 112 just popped up on my local CL, actually in Valpo for $90. Is this just the 50 watt version of the same amp? The one on your craigslist is the older 'Series I' version of what I have. That ones is only a single channel, but I'd suspect the cleans are very similar to mine. I'd say for $90 (maybe less), I'd go grab it. Looks like yours could use a teeny bit of cosmetic work, but if I lived there, I'd go grab it, esp if I could get it for $60. Neither that one or mine are worth much but on a long enough time line, I'd guess yours will eventually be the more historically respected amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DavidMgT Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I had one years ago, a small 1 X 10 combo, and wish I still had it. Very nice jazzy cleans with just a touch of sustain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 A friend had the 212 version of that amp, and it was awesome. Excellent score! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Buzzard070661 Posted March 27, 2011 Members Share Posted March 27, 2011 I bought a G50-112 II , second hand.Fantastic amp, great sound, and very loud for a 50 watt model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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